McDonald’s Introduces Its First Ever Organic Beef Hamburger
Starting this October, McDonald’s is launching its first ever hamburger made with organic beef. The new burger, named the “McB”, will appear in about 1,500 German and Austrian locations from October 1 to November 18.
The new sandwich will come with a number of upscale (though not organic) accouterments including Edam cheese, Lollo Bionda lettuce, and a sunflower seed bun. Another burger, the “Long McB”, will also contain organic beef, along with arugula, cheese, red onion, tomato, and a spicy sauce.
McDonald’s is attempting to appease a more health conscious consumer to compete in the same space as healthier fast food giants like Chipotle, reports QUARTZ. The fast food chain often tests new brand ideas in smaller markets before introducing them across the board, so this could mean a new era of organic offerings—and quite possibly change the face of the organic beef industry.
According to Eater:
That McDonald’s chose to offer organic beef burgers in Germany means both that the company sees potential for a demand for such an offering, and that the size of Germany’s organic beef output can meet McDonald’s purchasing needs. Though it’s growing at a rapid pace, currently, the U.S. organic beef market only accounts for about three percent of total meat production. If McDonald’s decided to introduce an organic burger in the U.S., the increased demand for organic beef would change the face of farming throughout North America.
This is similar to how the chain’s increased demand for cage-free eggs has the power to increase the output of cage-free eggs nationwide. The company uses a reported 2 billion shell and liquid eggs per year—or around 4 percent of the eggs produced in the U.S. Currently, less than 10 percent of eggs produced in the U.S. are cage-free, which is why the mega-food chain will need a decade for the shift, according to an article in The New York Times.
The chain has made a number of new moves to win back consumers. Recently, it announced that it’s committed to serving chicken raised without the use of medically important antibiotics, and will cut antibiotics in chicken from U.S. supply chains within the next two years.
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Image: Ryan
